Home » Misc » What to feed wild baby box turtles

What to feed wild baby box turtles


box-feeding | VCA Animal Hospital

What do box turtles eat?

Box turtles are omnivorous, meaning that they eat both plant- and animal-based foods. Some box turtles, like the ornate box turtle, eat insects. They have a sharp eye and keen sense of smell. Young, growing box turtles, up to 4-6 years of age, tend to be primarily carnivores, while adults tend to be herbivorous (eat only plant matter).

As a guideline, your box turtle's diet should be about 50% plant-based material and 50% animal-based material. Different breeds of box turtles have slightly different nutritional needs. There are many different opinions regarding exactly what box turtles should eat in order to have a nutritionally balanced diet; speak to a veterinarian familiar with box turtles to determine specifically what to feed your box turtle.

How often should I feed my box turtle?

Most young turtles eat daily, while older turtles can be fed daily or every other day, depending upon the pet's individual appetite, body weight, and overall health.

What types of plants I can feed my turtle?

Most (80-90%) of the plant material fed to box turtles should be vegetables and flowers, and only 10-20% should be fruit. As a rule, dark, leafy greens should make up the largest part of the diet. Yellow, red, and orange vegetables can also be included. Avoid light green vegetables, including iceberg or head lettuce and celery, as they are composed mainly of fiber and water with few nutrients. The inner, light-colored parts of some vegetables are less nutritious than the darker green outer leaves, so they should not be offered.

Acceptable vegetables that should represent a high percentage of the box turtle’s diet include collard greens, beet greens, mustard greens, broccoli, turnip greens, alfalfa hay, bok choy, kale, parsley, Swiss chard, watercress, clover, red or green cabbage, savory, cilantro, kohlrabi, bell peppers, green beans, escarole, and dandelion. A lesser percentage of the diet can include cactus, various squash, sprouts, cooked sweet potato, parsnips, okra, cucumber, asparagus, mushrooms, carrots, peas, and corn. Swiss chard, spinach, and beet greens should be fed sparingly, as they contain oxalates that can bind to calcium and other trace minerals, preventing these nutrients’ absorption in the turtle’s intestine. Diets composed primarily of these vegetables can ultimately lead to nutrient deficiencies. Caution should also be exercised when feeding cabbage, kale, or mustard greens in excess, as these vegetables contain goitrogens; excessive consumption of these items may lead to hypothyroidism.

Fruit should be fed more sparingly than vegetables, since they are often preferred by box turtles over vegetables and tend to be less nutritious. Fruits to offer include apples, pears, bananas (with skin), mango, grapes, star fruit, raisins, peaches, tomato, guava, kiwis, and melons. Fruits that are particularly healthy include figs (which are high in calcium), apricots, dates, raspberries, and strawberries. As a treat, flowers such as geraniums, carnations, dandelions, hibiscus, nasturtiums, and roses may also be offered.

"Fruit should be fed more sparingly than vegetables, since they are often preferred by box turtles over vegetables and tend to be less nutritious."

Vegetables and fruit can be offered cooked or raw, although raw tends to be more nutritious, as cooking can destroy many nutrients. Thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables before feeding them. Flowers can be home-grown or purchased from floral shops. Often, floral shops throw out older, wilting flowers. While these may be unacceptable for sale to the public, some store owners are willing to offer them at reduced cost for pet food. Be sure that no chemicals have been applied to the flowers or water before offering them to your turtle.

Food should be presented to box turtles in a shallow, clean dish that is not easily flipped over. Vegetables should be finely chopped and mixed together to discourage the turtle from eating only preferred food items.

What animal-based protein foods I can offer my turtle?

Depending on the age, breed, and health status of your box turtle, your veterinarian may or may not recommend feeding animal-based protein sources. When offered, some appropriate animal-based protein sources include grasshoppers, crickets, mealworms, wax worms, silkworms, moths, slugs, earthworms, and hard-boiled eggs. Commercially available reptile pellets provide an excellent protein source. Live prey, such as crickets and various worms, should either be raised inside by the owner or purchased from a pet store, bait store, or reptile breeder. Collecting insects from outside to feed pet turtles is generally not recommended, as fertilizers and insecticides on insects can be toxic to turtles.

The key is to feed a wide variety of healthy items, including both plant- and animal-based protein sources, to provide your box turtle with balanced nutrition.

Do I need to give my box turtle vitamins and minerals?

Like most reptiles, turtles require more dietary calcium than phosphorus. Most veterinarians recommend lightly sprinkling the vegetable matter offered to the box turtle with a calcium powder (calcium gluconate, lactate, or carbonate) 2-3 times per week. In addition, a light sprinkling of a multivitamin-vitamin mineral powder made for reptiles is also recommended weekly, especially if it contains vitamin D3 which can be toxic to turtles if over-supplemented. The best way to ensure reptiles are consuming the supplements is to  dust them onto small portions of their vegetables, and feed those dusted portions first.

"Turtles require more dietary calcium than phosphorus."

A common problem seen in pet box turtles is over-supplementation with vitamins (especially vitamin D3) and minerals. Check with your veterinarian about the need to supplement your pet's diet with any kind of vitamin or mineral.

What are box turtles' water requirements?

Fresh clean water should be available to box turtles at all times. Box turtles not only drink from the water bowl but will also bathe in it. Provide water in a shallow dish, crock, or pan that cannot be easily tipped over, and ensure the dish has some sort of a "ramp" (such as a rock, log, or commercially available turtle ramp) that allows the box turtle to easily climb in and out for soaking and drinking. The water level should reach up to its chin when its head comes out of its shell. Change the water daily, and clean the water bowl frequently, as many box turtles will defecate or eliminate in their water bowls.

You can mist your turtle with a water sprayer, too, a few times a week as well to help keep it hydrated.

Since all turtles can carry Salmonella bacteria that is transmittable to people, always wash your hands thoroughly after feeding, cleaning, or handling turtles.

What Do Box Turtles Eat? Expert Diet & Feeding Guide |

You are what you eat – and your box turtle is, too!

One of the most significant foundations for health and longevity in box turtles is their diet. That goes for just about any other animal, too, including humans.

You’ll have to take things like food groups, quantities, and feeding frequency into consideration, along with other factors like the animal’s age, the time of year, and the animal’s current health status.

As our pet’s caretaker, our goal should be to mimic its natural diet as much as possible.

Below, we’ll discuss the foods they’ve evolved to eat over hundreds of years, along with several other tips and ideas to help you keep your box turtle healthy and happy.

Table of Contents

What do Box Turtles Eat?

Box turtles are considered omnivores, with a healthy appetite for insects and fruits, especially.

What Box Turtles Eat in the Wild

With six species and even more subspecies spanning across North America, diet can vary somewhat, depending on which locality you’re caring for.

As we previously mentioned, the healthiest diet for a box turtle closely replicates its diet in the wild.

A wild box turtle’s diet typically consists of:
  • Earthworms
  • Snails
  • Spiders
  • Caterpillars
  • Grasshoppers
  • Millipedes
  • Crayfish
  • Fish
  • Frogs
  • Fallen fruit (often over-ripe or rotten)
  • Berries
  • Flowers
  • Grass
  • Cacti
  • Mushrooms

What Pet Box Turtles Eat in Captivity

Naturally, many of these food sources aren’t readily available to box turtle owners, so a captive box turtle’s typical diet varies significantly from a wild box turtle’s.

Still, the foods on this list are quite suitable and enjoyable for most box turtles.

Box turtles in captivity as pets eat the following:

  • Shredded carrots
  • Shredded squash
  • Green beans
  • Softened dog kibble
  • Berries
  • Melon (with the rind)
  • Greens such as mustard, dandelion, swiss chard, and collard
  • Flowers such as hibiscus, rose petals, geraniums, nasturtiums
  • Sweet peppers
  • Green beans
  • Cooked chicken
  • Eggs
  • Beef heart
  • Mealworms
  • Superworms
  • Earthworms and nightcrawlers
  • Pinky mice
  • Crickets
  • Commercial box turtle diet

Baby Box Turtle Diet

Hatchling box turtles require a different diet for the first twelve months of their life. They should be fed every day, although it is fine and probably healthy to limit their intake to a small snack on some days.

Like adult box turtle diets, the nutritional needs of young boxies are not fully understood.

Some sources report that they are entirely carnivorous. While it is true that they have higher protein needs than their fully-grown counterparts, it’s beneficial to offer baby box turtles vegetables and fruits with every meal.

Expert Tip: Since your baby box turtle’s diet will be high in protein, it will probably be low in calcium. At this age, it is imperative to dust foods with phosphorus-free calcium powder to achieve the appropriate ratios. This is necessary for healthy bone and shell growth.

Your baby box turtle may ignore the plant material (more on this later), especially in the first few months of life, but don’t panic. This is fine. Even exposure to the sight and texture of these healthful foods is beneficial.

Most animals will eventually crave or be attracted to foods packed with vitamins that they may be deficient in.

Let Mother Nature take the lead and allow your baby turtle to pick what it wants to eat, with an emphasis on protein, but with vegetables always included in the offering.

Adult Box Turtle Diet

As a box turtle reaches adulthood and finishes growing, their caloric needs decrease.

To accommodate their changing bodies, cut back “big” feeding days to as often as once every other day, or as little as once every three days.

Use your boxie’s appetite, activity level, and body condition as your guidance.

On non-feeding days, you may still opt to offer some of your turtle’s favorite treats as a small snack.

As with most reptiles, it is probably not harmful – and perhaps even beneficial – to let your box turtle fast entirely once every week or so.

Regarding diet composition, current recommendations are listed below, along with numerous healthy examples in each food group.

In most cases, the options listed are from best to worst in terms of calcium content, fiber content, and overall nutritional value for boxies.

Protein – 50%

All raw meat should be cooked. Many of the insects below are available live (best), canned or bagged moist (better), or freeze-dried (OK).

Avoid purchasing insects from a bait shop.

Remember to dust low-calcium protein sources with reptile calcium powder, crushed cuttlefish bone, or crushed eggshell.

Examples of suitable box turtle food from this group are:

  • Black soldier fly larvae*
  • Earthworms and nightcrawlers*
  • Waxworms
  • Mealworms
  • Super worms
  • Butterworms
  • Silkworms
  • Hornworms
  • Beetles
  • Crickets
  • Roaches
  • Grasshoppers
  • Sowbugs
  • Spiders
  • Snails and slugs
  • Shrimp
  • Feeder fish
  • Anoles
  • Poultry meat and organs
  • Commercial turtle diet
  • Moistened dog food
  • Beef meat and organs
  • Pork meat and organs
  • Eggs
  • Frozen/thawed pinkie mice

Other Vegetables – 30%

Tough or hard vegetables should be shredded or chopped into small pieces.

Examples of suitable box turtle food from this group are:

  • Butternut squash
  • Spaghetti squash
  • Celery
  • Radishes
  • Asparagus
  • Summer squash
  • Peas in the pod
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Okra
  • Carrots
  • Green beans
  • Wax beans
  • Cactus pads (spines removed)
  • Flowers
  • Mushrooms
  • Corn on the cob
  • Tomatoes
  • Broccoli
  • Beets
  • Cauliflower
  • Avocado

Leafy Green Vegetables – 10%

Keep in mind that, while dark, leafy green vegetables are excellent sources of fiber and calcium, they are high in oxalates, which can bind calcium, making over-feeding counterintuitive.

Examples of suitable box turtle food from this group are:

  • Collard greens
  • Mustard spinach
  • Turnip greens
  • Lambsquarters
  • Dill weed
  • Beet greens
  • Dandelion greens
  • Chinese cabbage
  • Loose-leaf lettuce
  • Mustard greens
  • Parsley
  • Kale
  • Chicory greens
  • Spinach
  • Watercress
  • Cabbage
  • Endive
  • Cilantro
  • Butterhead lettuce

Fruits and Berries – 10%

Fruits and berries should constitute roughly 10% of the box turtles food. Tough or hard fruits should be shredded or chopped into small pieces. Examples of suitable box turtle food from this group are:

  • Apples
  • Melons
  • Oranges
  • Grapes
  • Bananas
  • Blueberries
  • Raspberries
  • Papayas
  • Limes
  • Lemons
  • Blackberries
  • Grapefruit
  • Pineapples
  • Pears
  • Mango
  • Watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew melon with rind
  • Cherries
  • Cranberries
  • Apricots
  • Kiwi
  • Strawberries
  • Peaches
  • Plums

Feeding Schedule for Box Turtles

Young turtles need to be fed a full meal every or every other day. Healthy adults only need to be fed full meals every 2-3 days. Box turtles will appreciate a small snack on the days when they go without a full meal.

Adjust your feeding based on the health and activity level of your particular box turtle, and don’t forget to take seasonal variations into account.

Box turtles should always have access to water.

Components of a Healthy Box Turtle Diet

As you probably are aware, different types of foods provide different nutrients.

Bright red vegetables are typically high in vitamin A, vitamin C, and manganese, while dark leafy greens supply ample potassium, folate, and vitamin E.

To give your box turtle the healthiest diet possible, you should not only try to mimic its natural diet as much as you can, but also offer a wide variety of plant matter and protein sources. After all, variety is the spice of life!

Vitamin A

Vitamin A deficiency is a common issue for captive box turtles.

In a general sense, this ailment is avoidable by feeding a diet filled with fresh fruits and vegetables (with lots of variety).

Vitamin A deficiency in turtles typically results in respiratory infections, ear abscesses, and eye infections.

Foods that are naturally high in Vitamin A and safe to feed box turtle’s include:

  • Carrots
  • Broccoli
  • Cantaloupe
  • Squash
  • Sweet potato

Calcium and Phosphorous

As with most reptiles, proper calcium to phosphorus ratio is vital.

In fact, given that their armor-tough shell is made mostly of calcium, you might even consider this nutrient to be even more imperative for box turtles than many other reptile species.

Aim for a Calcium:Phosphorus ratio of 1.5:1 to 2:1.

The proper balance in each food source offered is not too important, so long as you aim for that average across the entire diet.

For example, if you offer a banana with a calcium to phosphorus ratio of only 0.3:1, you could balance that meal out with beet greens, which feature a hefty ratio of 3:1.

High Calcium:Phosphorus PLANT Foods (Best Foods)

  • Collard Greens (14. 5:1)
  • Mustard Spinach/Tendergreen (7.5:1)
  • Papaya (4.8:1)
  • Turnip Greens (4.5:1)
  • Oranges (2.9:1)

Low Calcium:Phosphorus PLANT Foods (Limited Amounts)

  • Green Peas (0.2:1)
  • Bananas (0.2:1)
  • Zucchini Squash (0.2:1)
  • Yam/Sweet Potato (0.3:1)
  • Tomatoes (0.4:1)

Low-calcium protein sources should also be dusted with a reptile calcium powder or crushed cuttlebone.

You can do this up to a few times a week but be aware that excessive calcium can cause issues as well.

High Calcium:Phosphorus PROTEIN Foods (Best Foods)

  • Black Soldier Fly Larvae (1.5:1)
  • Earthworms (1.5:1)
  • Nightcrawlers (1.5:1)
  • Dog food (~1:1)
  • Pinkie mice (0.9:1)

Low Calcium:Phosphorus PROTEIN Foods (Limited Amounts)

  • Butterworms (0.05:1)
  • Superworms (0. 06:1)
  • Mealworms (0.07:1)
  • Chicken breast (0.07:1)
  • Crickets (0.1:1)

It may also be beneficial to keep a piece of whole cuttlebone in your boxie’s enclosure.

Not only will this supply supplemental calcium, but it is also a source of enrichment and can help to keep the turtle’s beak filed down.

Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Box Turtle

Box turtles are so opportunistically omnivorous that the list of foods they can’t eat is shorter than the list of foods they can, and should, eat!

Still, it is crucial to address these items, so owners do not mistakenly make their pet sick by doing the right thing and varying their diet.

Never feed your box turtle any of the following foods:

  • Rhubarb
  • Tobacco leaves
  • Tomato leaves
  • Potato leaves
  • Avocado skins or pits
  • Poison ivy and other irritating plants
  • Substrate
  • Grains, breads, baked goods, and pasta
  • Candy
  • Processed meat
  • Dairy products
  • Processed foods in general, besides commercial dog food and box turtle diet (limit to <10% of their total diet)

How to Deal With a Box Turtle That Won’t Eat

Beyond overall pickiness, it’s not uncommon for box turtles to go on hunger strikes or to suddenly only eat one type of food when they were perfectly content eating a healthy, varied diet last week.

Many owners of box turtles and other land-based chelonians, like tortoises, find that they have a hard time convincing their reptilian friend to eat healthy foods, like dark leafy greens or squash.

After all, most box turtles are naturally drawn to insects and bright, soft fruits.

Beyond their own stubbornness, a flat out refusal to eat may also be a sign of stress or preparation for a change in the seasons.

Tips for Getting Your Box Turtle to Eat if You Encounter a Complete Hunger Strike:

Tip #1: Offer food to your box turtle at dusk, dawn, or late morning, after they’ve had a chance to warm up.

Tip #2: Offer food to your box turtle after a natural rainfall, thunderstorm, or after misting them and their enclosure.

Tip #3: Offer food in a sheltered area, like in a hide box or underneath a shrub.

Tip #4: If you are housing more than one box turtle together, make sure there is at least one sheltered feeding spot for each turtle, or try separating them during mealtime.

Tip #5: Avoid placing food in direct sunlight, especially during Summer.

Tip #6: Provide full-spectrum lighting to indoor boxies.

Tip #7: Feed a diet of foods rich in vitamin A to avoid the lethargy and lack of appetite associated with vitamin A deficiency.

Tip#8: If all else fails, set up an appointment with your experienced reptile veterinarian to run diagnostic tests and ensure that your pet doesn’t become too weak or develop a vitamin deficiency.

Dealing With Picky Eaters

If your box turtle has become obsessed with one food item, try serving it mixed with other types of food.

For example, if your turtle loves all kinds of worms but refuses to eat any veggies, try mixing chopped up worms with chopped squash to coax them into realizing that squash is food too.

If your turtle loves pumpkin but hates protein-rich foods, then mashing some mealworms in with pumpkin can make your boxie acquire a taste for bugs.

You should aim to offer food from each food group for most meals, even if your box turtle ignores certain foods. He or she may eventually surprise you.

Feeding the same food item for multiple meals is typically how box turtles develop favorites and picky eating habits.

Lighting and Diet

For turtles kept indoors, UVA- and UVB-producing fluorescent lights are strongly recommended for various reasons, unless they have access to plenty of natural sunlight.

Proper lighting will have numerous positive effects on the turtle, including increased appetite.

Full-spectrum light is required for vitamin D3 production and calcium absorption.

The basking light should be provided for 10-12 hours per day, then turned off at night.

If your box turtle is kept indoors, especially if you opt-out of providing full-spectrum lighting, sprinkle their food with a vitamin D3 supplement, or, better yet, a complete reptile multi-vitamin.

Temperature for Digestion

As with all other ectothermic (cold-blooded) animals, like reptiles, adequate environmental temperatures are necessary for your turtle to digest its food.

If nighttime temperatures fall below 65°F, your box turtle will need to bask and warm up for several hours in the morning before it will be interested in eating.

If the daytime temperatures are below 65°F, you should bring your box turtle inside, or it will attempt to hibernate by burrowing deep within its substrate.

The ideal daytime basking temperature for proper digestion is 85-87°F.

Don’t Forget to Offer Water

Your box turtle should always have access to clean, fresh water in a shallow container that they can climb into and won’t drown. It should be deep enough to allow them to wade and partially soak.

Boxies often use their water bowl as their toilet, so it’s essential to wash the dish and refill it every day.

There are some critical differences between feeding baby box turtles and adult box turtles.

Hatchlings and growing adolescents typically require more frequent meals with higher amounts of protein, while adult box turtles eat less often, more plant materials, and lower-fat protein sources.

Sourcing Your Box Turtle’s Food

Where you buy or source your reptile’s food is just as important as what you are feeding it.

Many reptile keepers advocate feeding only organic produce and with sound reasoning.

Every year, discoveries are made regarding additives, pesticides, preservatives, and colorants sprayed onto our food causing long-term health issues for humans.

The fact of the matter is that we hardly understand which artificial additives aren’t healthy for humans, let alone an entirely different species, like box turtles.

With a lifespan commonly surpassing the 30-year mark in captivity, box turtles easily live long enough to accumulate the pesticides and other pollutants found on conventional produce.

If you can’t afford, source, or grow your own organic produce, be sure to thoroughly rinse conventional produce before offering it to your pet.

Expert Tip: It can also be fun to supplement your boxie’s store-bought diet with more “exotic” insects and plants from your own backyard! Just make sure that your yard is organically grown, with no artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. The safest bet is to make sure that your neighbors aren’t spraying any poisonous chemicals in their adjacent yards, either.

If your yard is toxin-free, small spiders, snails, grasshoppers, anoles, non-toxic flowers, grasses, and leaves can all be considered fair game!

Bring your box turtle outside or build an outdoor enclosure so they can forage for themselves, too.

In terms of feeder insects, another habit that enthusiasts are wary of is purchasing nightcrawlers and red wigglers from bait shops.

Since these worms were not grown for pet consumption, there is little to no quality control regarding pollutants and chemicals.

Many times, they are farmed underneath rabbit cages, causing them to carry unwanted parasites and bacteria.

Box Turtle Feeding Diet

Box Turtles In captivity they can be finicky eaters and although it is relatively easy to keep one as a pet, finding the right diet for the box turtle is often difficult. As difficult as it may be, finding the right box turtle food is the single most important thing you can do for your pet if you want it to live a long and healthy life.



What do box turtles eat?

When Easter Box Turtles and other varieties of Box Turtles live in the wild, their metabolisms go through many fluctuations. Seasons, natural food availability, temperature and lighting all play a role in how and what a turtle eats. These natural changes are no longer part of a turtle's routine when living in captivity, and it can become confused and/or very picky about what it eats.



Related Articles
  • Box Turtle Pictures
  • Oscar Fish Pictures
  • Betta Fish Pictures

In nature, the box turtle usually hides in its shell and waits for better feeding conditions if food is not available. This does not happen in captivity. If a captive turtle is fed regularly, it will begin to deteriorate, eventually weaken and die.



Box turtles are omnivores

Box turtles are omnivores, which means they eat anything, including vegetables, fruits, and meats. Although they can eat a wide variety of foods, they should never be fed food that they would not otherwise find in nature. This means that you should not feed your box turtle hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips, or other foods specifically made for humans.

Proper Diet for Box Turtles

Box turtles have a list of foods to eat.



Feed Your Box Turtle 75 Percent Vegetables

The box turtle can eat a wide variety of foods, but should make up the majority of its diet with fresh vegetables, preferably dark leafy vegetables. A good selection of vegetables to feed the box turtle:

  • Cabbage
  • Romaine lettuce (not iceberg)
  • Cabbage Greens
  • Dandelives (stems, leaves and flowers)
  • Greeds of mustard
  • spinach (only occasionally)
  • Broccoli stems (only occasionally)
  • Pods of pea
  • corn (only in the Arts)
  • Beets
  • Carrots (shredded, not chopped)

These vegetables should make up 75 percent of your box turtle's diet.



difference between automatic and manual

Fruit should make up 12.5% ​​of a common box turtle's diet

Box turtles also eat many types of fruit, but surprisingly, they should not eat too much of it because fruits do not contain vitamins and minerals needed for health and the well-being of the turtle. The following fruits should only make up about 12.5% ​​of a turtle's diet:



  • Strawberries
  • Bananas
  • Grapes
  • Mangoes
  • Papaya
  • Tomatoes
  • kiwi
  • melons (without seeds)
  • Mixed berries
  • Persians

Diets of the box and a little natural proteins are required to be slightly health protein, but not much.

Protein should make up the remaining 12.5% ​​of the turtle's diet. It is best to feed your box turtle the proteins it is commonly found with in the wild, including:

Box Turtle Ready Foods

There are many brands of dry turtle food on the market, most of which claim to be “nutritionally complete”, but this should not be the only food for turtles. They can be added to a turtle's diet as a supplement, but are not recommended as a sole food source. Before feeding your turtle dry food, soak it in warm water for about 30 minutes to soften it up.

Box Turtle Vitamin Supplement

It can be very difficult to come up with a diet that meets your turtle's nutritional needs and also one that the little guy would actually eat. Therefore, many experts agree that vitamin supplements are beneficial for most captive turtles, especially if kept indoors. Sprinkle your pet's food with a quality reptile multivitamin supplement a couple of times a week.

Box Turtle Feeding

Box turtles are best fed in the morning and afternoon as these are the times of the day when they are most active and warm. How often and how much you feed your box turtle depends on their age:

  • Adult box turtles should be fed at least three times a week, at meals every other day or every other day. If you are unsure of the frequency, check with your veterinarian.
  • Young and baby box turtles should be fed daily and supplemented with vitamins and calcium at least three times a week.
  • A variety of food should be given at each feeding and you should remove any uneaten parts after about 15-20 minutes although live food such as insects may remain.
  • If you have a hibernating box turtle, you won't need to feed it during its hibernation months, but it should always have access to water.
  • Depending on your turtle's temperament, you may need to feed him in the hiding place if he is shy. If you are keeping more than one turtle together, you will also need to feed them on separate plates or feeding areas, or even separate them completely if one of them is preventing the others from eating.

Change your box turtle's diet regularly

Ideally, your box turtle's diet should be changed frequently. If you feed the same thing day after day, the turtle will get tired and in many cases will go on a hunger strike. Change the turtle's diet so that it eats different foods on different days. This will help ensure that your pet is interested in feeding times as well as providing a proper and balanced diet.

Cuora mouhotii (keeled box turtle) - Turtles.ru

Description

The length of the brown carapace of this Indian spiny turtle reaches a maximum of 18 cm. The plastron consists of 12 scutes, pale yellow or brown with brown spots on each scutellum, with a movable articulation between the thoracic and ventral shields. The posterior margin of the carapace is serrated; the lobes of the plastron are narrow, unable to completely close the carapace. 5 vertebral scutes. The carapace along the vertebral scutes is very flat. On top of the carapace there are 3 longitudinal ridges (keel).

The large head of a keeled box turtle is yellow or brown, with a characteristic hooked upper jaw and yellow markings in the temporal region. There are characteristic outgrowths on the hips and at the base of the tail. Ribbed toes. The skin on the forelegs is dark, ranging from dark gray to black. The feet are only partially webbed, suggesting a terrestrial lifestyle rather than an aquatic one. On the front legs there are large, overlapping shields. Turtles have a highly visible hook at the anterior end of the maxillary incisor that cannot be removed. With it, the turtle climbs.

Females and males differ in color. Males have a brown head with red lateral lines down to the angle of the jaw, while females have a yellow head with a yellowish reticulate pattern. The irises of males and females can be either reddish or black. Most likely, the color of the eyes is not a sexual characteristic, but the difference between the subspecies of this turtle. The tails of males are slightly longer than those of females, and the plastron is slightly concave. The plastron in black-eyed individuals is usually spotted, while in red-eyed individuals it is completely dark.

Habitat

Keeled box turtle lives in Southeast Asia (China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, India, Bhutan). Leads a terrestrial lifestyle, lives in forests. Prefers shallow waters in tropical rain forests, and in places densely overgrown with vegetation. Prefer cool places. Leads a secretive life.

Turtles are most active in the morning and evening.

Diet

Fly turtles are omnivores, but prefer plant food - plants and fallen fruits. But also they will never give up worms, snails and other protein foods.

They can be given weeds (but they do not like them very much), indoor plants from the edible list, fruits (apples, pears, bananas), vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin), mushrooms, from animal feed (earthworms , snails, pebbles, insects, seafood).

Breeding

The breeding season for box turtles is from May to September. Male box turtles are very aggressive during mating. In some cases, the male may chase and injure the female until he wins favor from her. There are usually two clutches per season. In one clutch up to 5 eggs (usually 2) in a clutch. The average egg size is 4.4 cm. Females dig nests for box turtles with their hind legs and bury the masonry with soil, and also lay their eggs under fallen leaves.

Optimum incubation temperature is 28-29 C, hatching occurs in 65-75 days. Incubation humidity is 95-100%. At a temperature of about 27 about C, the incubation period will be about 90 days. As a soil for incubation, it is worth using vermiculite or sphagnum. Newborns are about 40 mm in size and weigh 12 g.

Keeled box turtles rarely breed in captivity. There are examples of successful keeping and breeding in Europe, the USA and Canada.

Captivity

Natural turtles do not adapt well in captivity, but they are very sociable and enjoy human contact.

For maintenance, you need a horizontal terrarium from 80x50x40 cm with a pond and shelter. The pool should not be deep 10-15 cm, but spacious. It is necessary to maintain a high level of humidity of 75-95% by spraying or rain installation. Accordingly, there should be little ventilation in order to maintain humidity at the proper level.

The keeled tortoise likes to burrow into the ground, so the ground should be at least 5 cm thick. It is best to use a mixture of bark, moss and leaves, or sphagnum with mulch as the ground.

A tortoise past its active growth stage, secretive, receiving "ready" D3 in its food - the absence of UV is not critical, but a local light source - can cause very insidious sluggish stress. You don't need "tubes" until you fully adapt; then, as she began to walk steadily, swim, go out for food - another thing, putting UVB would not be superfluous.

Turtles occasionally go out to bask in the sun, but mostly spend their time in the shade. The UVI range for them is 0.7-1.0 average, 1.1-3.0 maximum (Fergusson zone 2). Daylight hours in summer - 14 hours, in winter - 10 hours. The air temperature during the day is 26-30 C with the temperature under the lamp (at the point of heating) 28-30 (35) C, and at night - 20-24 C. If the turtle has a cooling period, then the temperature at such a time should be 10-15 C.

The lower temperature threshold, especially during the adaptation period, MUST NOT exceed 24 C, even if the turtles were calmly "kept" higher during the overexposure. Upper - for the first time not higher than 27-28 C, most often the minimum difference is created to assess the degree of activity of the turtle; in the future, the heating element may not be needed at all.

Quarantine

ALWAYS consider the stress factor. Overexposing the forest turtle on napkins, watching when it is convenient for you, will not work. She "initially" needs a fully equipped terrarium with a substrate, shelters and a large bathing room, because. maladjustment syndrome - still worse than the difficulty of visualizing activity, feeding behavior, feces, etc. If necessary, treatment of amoebiasis, giardiasis, etc. - all structures will have to be disassembled and processed. If the turtle does not eat yet, it has nothing to "go" with; however, they can throw off green lumps of mucus - inspect the terrarium! They are suitable for analysis. It is necessary to bring to the laboratory quickly, within 5-8 hours. The quarantine period is at least 3 months.

Additional information

The specific name "mouhotii" was given to the turtle in honor of Alexandre Henri Muhot, a French naturalist and explorer. Also, this species has other names: a turtle with a toothed shell, a fly turtle and a keeled water turtle.

Outwardly, these turtles are very similar to Geoemyda spengleri, but 2-3 times larger, although with the same interesting behavior. Cuora mouhotii are less demanding on keeping temperatures, unlike Geoemyda spengleri. Cuora mouhotii does well in a terrarium with Rhinoclemmys pulherrima.

It was the decoding of the Pyxidea mouhotii genome that brought at least some clarity to the systematics and phylogenesis of the entire complex of species belonging to the genera Cyclemys, Cuora and Pyxidea. For a long time it was believed that it is monophyletic, i.e. descending from one common ancestor, a group - in particular, being outwardly dissimilar, these turtles in nature often interbreed with each other; in many respects, pixidea is closer to the cuors than to the more similar cyclemis. They referred her to one or the other. But in 2008, a complete deciphering of the mitochondrial genome of pixidea showed that its closest relative in this group is Cuora aurocapitata, a rare narrow-range species from the Chinese province of Anhui, and Cuora and Cyclemys come from two different ancestors. Phylogenetic analysis of the main groups of crypto-necked turtles, taking into account these data (the second source in the list), allowed Chinese scientists to assume that geoemidids are more related to "true land turtles", i.e. testudinides than emidides, as was commonly believed.

C. mouhotii is sometimes regarded as the only species of the monotypic genus Pyxidea. Phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA has provided evidence that this species is part of the "Cuora group", a monophyletic group of Asian box turtles, and the name Pyxidea should probably be synonymized with Cuora, making the keeled box turtle part of this genus. Other phylogenetic studies of Cuora support this conclusion. Also, its morphology is not distinct enough from that of the Cuora species to separate it, and it is known to hybridize with Cuora galbinifrons. The South Vietnamese population of Cuora mouhotii resides near Cuora picturata. Since Cuora mouhotii is known to hybridize with the closest living relatives of Cuora picturata (Cuora galbinifrons and Cuora bourreti), there is the possibility of hybridization in the wild between these two populations.

Sources of information

VK group "Spooks! amphibians, turtles, lizards, snakes"
Highfield, A. C. Practical Encyclopedia of Keeping and Breeding Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles. Carapace Press, London 1996
Zhang L, Nie L, Cao C, Zhan Y. The complete mitochondrial genome of the Keeled box turtle Pyxidea mouhotii and phylogenetic analysis of major turtle groups. J Genet Genomics. 2008 Jan 35, Abstract and imprint here: http://www.ncbi.

Learn more